Cancer Bitch Gets Served

Today my posse for the trip to JH was a friend who makes a mean Chicken Tetrazinni and homemade Pound Cake!

We exchanged stories on the road about childhood run-ins with bears in Yellowstone (both times bears leaned on cars scaring the crap out of us) and hiking past steam vents at Volcano National Park in Hawaii (once again scaring the crap out of us). She told me about her new glasses, and I told her about my vision problems in May (which went away) and how I continued driving to work at that time. She went ballistic!

Told me that I was alternately gung-ho about fighting cancer and passive-aggressive with negativity - saying to myself I'm not going to survive this anyway and can therefore justify eating an entire bag of potato chips. Caught! It was so true I had to laugh out loud. That's what happens when you ride with a professional life coach. I had a huge chunk of her pound cake for dinner, but I'll have a salad and lots of fruit tomorrow.....

Cancer Bitch - "No Grits No Glory"

We're back from a whirlwind summer of travel - Grand View, NY; Parkersburg, WV; Pensacola, FL. Am now back on chemo and wishing I were back on the beach. We saw movies ("Dinner for Schmucks" "Salt" "Despicable Me" ate a LOT of food and actually got some rest.

Now, I loved "Lulu's" and "Rockland Bakery" in Nyack, and had fabulous "Grape Salad" in Parkersburg (yeah, I know its not really a salad - details, details). But my favorite place in Pensacola was the "Coffee Cup"(went three times) where I discovered the joys of deep-fried French Toast. Its a southern axiom that anything tastes better deep-fried and damn that French Toast was good!

My second discovery was "Grits A Yaya." They did a lot of creative stuff with grits in Pensacola (Nassau Grits also fabulous). But the "Fish House" restaurant's Grits a Yaya made with smoked gouda and shrimp made me actually consider moving to Florida to be near my new love. My vacation resulted in a gain of 12 pounds. Success!

(shout out to "Oh Snap" cupcakes in Pensacola where Mom was scandalized by the price of $2.50 per cupcake!)

My third discovery was I could actually take it easy and still have a good time. And when people allowed me to rest or when they offered help - I learned to accept it graciously. My cousin, Shenae, actually whipped up some "Spiced Pecans" when I came over for dinner.

You know this was a long time coming. I didn't want to feel like "The Patient" and I was determined to party as hard as I did before the big "C". But I learned, thanks to all who hung out with me this summer, its the people not the party. Took long enough....

Now my next party will feature giant cupcakes and Grits a Yaya. With limoncello!




A very empty Pensacola Beach.